The Indiana Hoosiers came to Columbus, where they hadn’t won since 2008, with a couple of questions attached to them like sucker fish despite being the nation’s top-ranked team.

Could the Hoosiers bounce back three days after a 74-72 upset loss at Illinois in which they blew a 10-point lead in the final four minutes?

And could Indiana, ranked in the top 10 all season, finally register a signature road victory?

Indiana (21-3) answered both questions yesterday with a resounding 81-68 victory over No. 10 Ohio State, a Big Ten foe that had defeated the Hoosiers six of the past seven times in Columbus — the past four games decided by 17 points or more.

“At times we’ve not had the firepower to compete with (OSU),” fifth-year Indiana coach Tom Crean said. “Last year, we had the firepower but didn’t have the toughness to compete with them. That’s all part of growth.”

The victory was Indiana’s first in the Big Ten on the road over a top-10 opponent since defeating Iowa in 1993. The Hoosiers had not defeated any top-10 opponent on the road since Notre Dame on Dec. 5, 2000.

“It was one of the best games we’ve played all year,” said guard Victor Oladipo, who led Indiana with a career-high 26 points.

Oladipo and forwards Cody Zeller (24 points) and Christian Watford (20) combined for 70 points — two more than OSU had — and made 22 of their 32 shots while totaling 22 rebounds. It was the first time since Feb. 27, 1999, against Penn State, that the Buckeyes allowed three players to score 20 or more.

Crean said his three leading scorers “played as well as a triangle as three guys could because they were great on both ends of the floor.”

The Hoosiers impressed Crean with how they learned from their late-game meltdown at Illinois as they aim for their first outright Big Ten championship since 1993, or at least their first share since 2002.

Indiana is tied with Michigan State atop the conference at 9-2 with seven games left, including road tests against Michigan State, Minnesota and Michigan.

Before yesterday, the Hoosiers were 4-0 in true road games, but those were against Iowa, Penn State, Northwestern and Purdue. Those four are a combined 12-29 in league play and lack the pedigree of OSU, a Final Four team last season.

“We grew up a lot today,” Zeller said.

Maturity showed in how the Hoosiers passed the ball with patience and precision. They shot 53 percent for the game, including 59 percent in the second half, against a defense that had kept each of its first 23 opponents from making half their shots.

“We’re not satisfied from winning certain games,” Oladipo said. “We want to keep going. We want to be the last team standing.”